Saturday, October 19, 2013

The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, led by Music Director Jeffrey Kahane, presents the highly anticipated U.S. premiere of the orchestral version of Bruce Adolphe’s Do You Dream in Color?, a powerful work set to a poem about living without sight written by rising mezzo-soprano Laurie Rubin. Born blind, Rubin, a 1997 Music Center Spotlight Awards winner, joins LACO for the premiere, marking her LACO debut, on Saturday, October 19, 8 pm, at Pasadena’s Ambassador Auditorium, and Sunday, October 20, 7 pm, at UCLA’s Royce Hall. French cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras, who wowed audiences and critics alike at USC’s 2012 Piatigorsky International Cello Festival, makes his LACO debut in Haydn’s exceptionally demanding Cello Concerto in C major, believed lost until discovered in Prague in 1961. Kahane also conducts Mozart’s light-hearted Serenata Notturna, K. 239, and opens the program with Britten’s Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge, the work that catapulted Britten into the international limelight. The concert is part of the noted citywide “Britten 100/LA: A Celebration” curated by LA Opera.

Adolphe, a great admirer of Rubin’s voice who approached her about a possible collaboration, explains the genesis of Do You Dream in Color?: “I asked Laurie to express in words what it feels like to live without sight so I could set it in music.” Rubin wove her singular experiences into the poem, ranging from how she applies make-up and makes jewelry to her joy at a young fan’s request that she sign a program. Rubin recorded Adolphe's song with solo piano for Bridge Records.

Concert Preludes, pre-concert talks held one hour before curtain and free for ticket holders, provide insights into the music and artists. In conjunction with the Britten centenary celebrations, Kahane discusses Benjamin Britten and his musical legacy. Additionally, composer Bruce Adolphe speaks about his composition for Rubin and a representative from Braille Institute, one of LACO’s community partners, talks about Braille music notation. Braille Institute is also providing a special display of collograms, a type of textural printmaking, inspired by Rubin's poem and Adolphe's work. The Royce Hall concert is sponsored, in part, by the Sidley Austin Foundation.

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra is considered one of the world’s premier chamber orchestras as well as a leader in presenting wide-ranging repertoire and adventurous commissions. Its 2013-14 season, the Orchestra's 45th, features a compelling mix of beloved masterpieces and genre-defying premieres from firmly established as well as notable up-and-coming composers programmed by Jeffrey Kahane, one of the world’s foremost conductors and pianists, who marks his 17th season as LACO’s music director.

Tickets, starting at $25, are on sale now and may be purchased online at laco.org, by calling LACO at 213 622 7001. Discounted tickets are also available by phone for seniors 65 years of age and older and groups of 12 or more. College students may purchase student rush tickets ($10), based on availability, at the box office the day of the concert. Also available for college students is the $25 “Campus to Concert Hall All Access Pass” – good for all seven of LACO’s Orchestral series concerts, Discover Beethoven’s Eroica and three Westside Connections concerts.